Introduction
I have never been more convinced about going to law school than I am today. I have been accepted to a little more than 10 law schools but I think I already have a pretty good idea on where I'm going. For those of you that are interested, I will just say that it’s a “Top 100” school.
Regardless of my choice, I am very aware that I will be making a 3 year commitment and that I could incur over 100K of debt (I got no scholarship offers from my top choice). On top of that, I have undergrad debt and consumer debt, and I had to quit my job. So if I do poorly in school and land no jobs or only low paying jobs, then I will be in big trouble with my creditors and I will probably hate life. This is a very big risk that I am taking, but it is one that I hope will pay off.
Based on my research, it has also become apparent that if I want to get the best job that I could and be successful in the private market, then I should probably place in the top 15% of my class. If this is my underlying goal, then why is this blog called "Road to Top 10"? Well, in reality I am shooting to be in the top 1% of my class, but since I heard that law school exams could be a bit subjective, then I am going to predict that if I do almost everything right, I should not have a problem placing in the top 10%, hence the title "Road to Top 10". However, if I place outside of the top 10%, but still in the top 15%, I will still pat myself in the back for a job well done.
So the question now is, "What must I do to place in the top 10% of my law school class"? To be honest, I don't know. But what I do know is that it’s not going to be easy, and it’s going to require countless hours of preparation and study.
I am also going to assume that as of today, I am less prepared and skilled than most of my future classmates. Why is this? Well, to start, my GPA and my LSAT fall under my law school’s median numbers. To be honest, a big reason why I think I even got an offer was because I am a URM and because in my Personal Statement I was able to successfully communicate the significant amount of adversity that I faced in my life, and my diversity (edit: and because of the great tips from TLS). Moreover, English is not my native language, my undergraduate school was a Tier 4, and my undergraduate major required almost no writing, hence my writing skills are poor. So I think it’s safe to assume that if I don't exponentially prepare myself more than my future classmates, I will not even graduate in the top half of my class.
I am emphasizing my weaknesses so that when I post my law school preparation strategy you will not freak out. Remember, the strategy that I will layout for myself in the next couple of days is one that I feel will fit best for me. We all have different strengths and weaknesses so what I think will be helpful to me, can probably be a waste of your time. So if you are a HYS 0L, then this is probably not the blog for you… unless you are looking for entertainment
. Nonetheless, I am still a 0L, so if you have some advice for me, feel free to comment!I have spent many hours researching the Top Law School forums and many other websites in order to craft a plan of success that I think will suit me best. I am forever indebted to the Top Law Schools website and I am very thankful for all the TLS contributors.
It’s already May and I start classes in August, so I will post my plan soon and then I will start preparing like a maniac! Wish me luck!
